Flint Rasmussen enjoys boosted production values at Cowboy Christmas

There was a time, back in the early 2000s, when Cowboy Christmas had just one show, and it was tucked away in a corner at the massive Western lifestyle expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center. That show was “Outside the Barrel” with Flint Rasmussen.

Over time, Cowboy Christmas organizers — likely with a friendly shove from Rasmussen — realized shoppers really enjoyed being able break up their outing by sitting down and taking in such entertainment. So more shows were added, with a bigger stage and hundreds of chairs for more of a studio audience feel. Which was apropos, as the shows were being sent to a television audience, too.

Now, in 2021, it’s no longer Cowboy Christmas. It’s The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas, with the TV network in its first year as presenting sponsor. So Rasmussen’s show, once an afterthought, is now on a very big stage with higher production value and much larger TV distribution, as are the two other daily shows: The “Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Calcutta,” at 10:15 a.m.; and the new “Cowboy Revival” with host Shane Minor, at 12:30 p.m.

Rasmussen’s show is sandwiched in between, at 11:15 a.m., and it’s as popular as ever.

“We’re about 17 years in now. But this year is the first year I’ve come here and said, ‘This stage is perfect.’ It’s bigger, there’s better sound, better lighting,” Rasmussen said. “It’s Las Vegas, so if anybody is gonna go to a show, they expect to have a great experience. So the biggest thing is that the quality of the venue is better. I don’t know if I’m any better, but everything else is better!”

It’s that kind of self-deprecating humor, among other qualities, that so endears Rasmussen to the Cowboy Christmas/Wrangler NFR crowd. Rasmussen, a former rodeo clown and ever the entertainer, is a natural in the space and certainly the elder statesman — though by no means old, at 53 – of rodeo entertainment. Kind of like his idol.

“When I was a little kid, it was all about watching Johnny Carson from the edge of the stairs, when I couldn’t sleep,” he said. “I’ve always been enthralled with that late-night talk show feel, that live studio audience. I still love that outlet.”

And it shows in the way Rasmussen strives to mimic that fun, free-flowing, late-night talk show atmosphere with his guests every day during the Wrangler NFR.

“I don’t look at it as an interview. It’s a conversation. I like to let the audience in on things they wouldn’t normally be allowed in on,” Rasmussen said, while pointing to a discussion this week with normally reserved team roper Derrick Begay. “He’s a man of few words, but I really feel I got a lot of words out of him. To me, that’s what it’s all about. It’s just a little different outlet to affect people.”

Rasmussen isn’t limited to NFR contestants, either. As he continues to push the show in new directions, it’s gotten much more variety.

“We’ve now started looking at it as a variety show. There are so many different things. We have a musical guest, contestants, stock contract people from rodeos,” Rasmussen said.

Oh, and the Hollywood stars come out for Rasmussen, as well. And he doesn’t even have to ask them — they come to him.

“We’ve got Forrie J. Smith on later in the week. He plays Lloyd on Yellowstone,” Rasmussen said. “Somebody asked me, ‘How’d you get him?’ I said, ‘He called me on the telephone and asked when he could be on the show.’ That’s the truth. He’s a Montana guy, like me.”

Joining Rasmussen on The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas entertainment docket this year is Shane Minor, a former rodeo cowboy, then country music artist and now country music songwriter. He hosts “Cowboy Revival,” which actually got a soft start last year, when the NFR took hiatus from Las Vegas and was held in Arlington, Texas, because of the pandemic.

“It was actually a really soft start, not knowing what it would look like,” Minor said. “But when we did it, it just seemed to flow and take off.”

“Cowboy Revival” is dedicated to promoting country music in all its forms — traditional, mainstream, rocking, whatever. Minor is a big-tent guy, but he most appreciates those artists who tip their Resistols to the roots of country music.

“The show has now turned into a movement, which is great. The good thing is it ain’t about me. It’s the country music listeners who make it move,” Minor said, while noting that he’s already had several wow moments this week at Cowboy Christmas. “That moment for me is watching what country music does to people. Being a country music songwriter, I’m watching people who seem hungry for country music — music that speaks for itself, and the people say it resonates with us and with our culture.

“Country music is big all over, and that’s been the really rewarding moment for me. I can’t count on my hands the number of people who have come up to me this week to say thank you.”

Minor’s show has drawn strong audiences to the live stage at Cowboy Christmas — and countless more people watching on The Cowboy Channel — making a success of the more official start to his show, a big step up from last year’s one-off in Texas.

“It’s been great crowds during the show and then people hanging around to talk afterward. It’s been amazing,” Minor said. “It’s been just a joyful experience and a fast ride. You know that feeling you get when you buckle into your seat on a roller coaster or getting into a bucking chute? It’s like that. This is the soundtrack of America, and I love it all.”

Well, perhaps almost all. Minor has been so busy that he might have some surprise bills in the mail when he gets back to Nashville.

“Cowboy Christmas has been awesome. My wife’s had my credit card all week, so I’m about broke!”

But he won’t mind a few extra dollars going out the door if means helping promote his love of country music. Above all, “Cowboy Revival” is working to get new, young artists in front of fans — talented musicians who otherwise might not be able to break through on the country music scene. And again, especially those artists who really try to stay true to the traditions and roots of country music.

“There are so many great young country music artists, and some people say, ‘That’s a little too country for country music.’ I don’t understand that mindset. There’s room for it all,” Minor said. “We’re just trying to fight the fight and give them a stage to showcase their talent. When you see the look of people sitting there enjoying it, singing along, that’s what ‘Cowboy Revival’ is here to do — to help support the artists.”

Without question, Minor knows of what he speaks. He penned one of the hottest songs currently on the country music charts, “Cold As You,” performed by Luke Combs. Minor’s original working song title might give you a bigger hint as to what it’s about: “A Beer Almost As Cold As You.”

And Minor got an assist on the song from the Cowboy Christmas headliner.

“I got the idea from a conversation I had with Flint,” he said, adding that if you want the whole story — and it’s a good one — you’ll have to take it up with Rasmussen.

In fact, Minor credits Rasmussen not just for the chart-topping song, but for the speedy success of “Cowboy Revival.”

“Flint has helped me immensely. He’s a true pro,” Minor said. “When you come in and you have this new guy pushing country music, sometimes it’s like, ‘Hey, you’re in my space.’ Flint has been the opposite — what can I do to help, try this, do this. He’s a wonderful guy, a great man in and out of the arena.”